Growth

Ever since Little Arro had asked the black cat, Gemma, for advice on training methods, Black Cat Gemma's attitude toward him had changed considerably.

Besides his morning training, she also made Little Arro study writing properly. She deliberately set aside the afternoons to teach him letters, while also allowing his body to rest better.

Little Arro trained in the morning, learned to read and write in the afternoon, and wandered around the nearby Training Ground at night. His fulfilling days made time pass quickly.

In the blink of an eye, five months had passed.

The weather gradually turned colder, and the leaves began to wither. Yet the joy of the harvest made the atmosphere in the Small Town grow even livelier, and Little Arro's gains were tremendous as well.

He had already become familiar with the breathing method of the Knight's Breathing Technique and could use it while training, which greatly aided his exercises.

At the same time, he had also figured out how the bonus stamina worked.

First, bonus stamina could not be used directly as his own stamina.

If his own stamina were compared to a five-hundred-milliliter cup of water, and the stamina lost during training were seen as pouring out one milliliter every second—

Then bonus stamina was like connecting a one-thousand-milliliter water bottle in parallel to that five-hundred-milliliter cup, with the two remaining proportional to one another.

With bonus stamina activated, the stamina loss during training was still one milliliter per second, but Little Arro's actual stamina only dropped by one third of a milliliter per second.

It was like a buff that reduced stamina consumption.

After training, if all his stamina had been exhausted but he maintained the bonus stamina state, then his stamina would recover based on the boosted stamina value rather than his pitiful original stamina of less than one point.

Using it at that time was like a stamina recovery buff.

Of course, whether or not he still maintained the Knight's Breathing Technique afterward, the food needed to restore his stamina would not decrease. But for Little Arro's family, that was an insignificant matter.

During this period, through familiarizing himself with the Knight's Breathing Technique and repeatedly practicing Tree Climbing, he had gained a great deal.

Personal Attributes:

Strength: 0.5

Agility: 0.4

Nerve Reflex: 1.1

Stamina: 0.7

Constitution: 0.9

Personal Martial Skills:

Cat Form Fist - Climbing Tree: Intermediate (increases Reaction Speed)

Knight's Breathing Technique: Intermediate (slightly increases Stamina Recovery Speed; increases Temporary Attribute upon activation, Stamina +1)

Remaining Skill Points: 0

Personal Level: LV0: 0/10

Personal Martial Arts Mission: Novice Mission probinggg...

As usual, Little Arro followed behind Black Cat Gemma.

After leaving the Castle, the black cat began circling the area again. Once she had selected a straight tree six meters tall, Little Arro casually took off his loose outer garment, and the waiting Kabir hurried forward to catch it.

Once he had removed the loose outer garment, the cute little blond boy's aura changed completely. Beneath his small frame was a body of streamlined muscles, and even his abs were faintly visible.

As his focus gradually sharpened, Little Arro's eyes became incomparably fierce, making him look just like a savage little leopard.

Training came in different forms, including weight training and stretching. Weight training compressed the gaps between the bones, thereby affecting height development.

Little Arro knew this, so he deliberately avoided weight training. The muscles on his body had all been developed through Tree Climbing and the miraculous nourishing effects of the Breathing Technique.

As he adjusted his breathing rhythm, his muscles began to tremble slightly along with the strange rhythm of his breaths.

Whoosh!

He hugged the tree trunk and began... slowly wriggling upward.

Black Cat Gemma watched from the side with tightly furrowed eyebrows.

Even after all this time, Little Arro had never managed to shoot straight up a tree the way Black Cat Gemma had demonstrated.

As for Kabir, he had long since received a reward at the old Castle for successfully teaching Little Arro the Knight's Breathing Technique. He was now Little Arro's personal bodyguard.

And this only increased the pressure in Black Cat Gemma's heart.

A mere knight had taught the difficult Knight's Breathing Technique, and Little Arro had learned it in just over half a month.

Yet she was only teaching him how to climb trees. Little Arro had been climbing for nearly half a year, and he still had not succeeded.

Didn't that make her seem utterly useless?

But Little Arro could not be blamed for this.

The physical structures of humans and cats were far too different. Black Cat Gemma could use her claws to grip the tree trunk directly and secure herself.

For Little Arro to achieve a similar effect, his upper body needed to be strong enough to suspend his body using only his fingers hooked into the cracks of the bark, while his lower body needed to support his torso using only his feet.

That inevitably required a powerful foundation of strength. So after discussing it with Black Cat Gemma, he had changed his training method, continuously strengthening his limbs through slow Tree Climbing.

In the end, the increase in his attributes proved that he had not been doing Wasted Effort.

As for whether he could do it now, he had never tried. And today, Little Arro had come to confirm it.

After climbing the tree once and roughly memorizing the dry patterns of the bark, Little Arro jumped down, turned to Black Cat Gemma, and said, "Teacher Gemma, I'm ready."

Black Cat Gemma flicked her tail impatiently and snapped coldly, "Then hurry up! I've been waiting for over half a year!"

"Okay, Teacher Gemma."

Little Arro did not mind the black cat's attitude. After spending half a year together, he had long grown used to it.

Staring At the tree trunk before him, Little Arro recalled all the training he had undergone over the past half year.

The initial Charge, the spring of his legs, the upright rush aided by momentum...

His once-soft palms were now covered in hard calluses. Powerful muscles bulged beneath his tender arms. At this moment, even if only two fingers were hooked into the bark, he could pull his body upward through his own strength.

The ground grew farther and farther away from Arro, but it did not affect his concentration in the slightest. Long-term climbing had already made him accustomed to it. At this moment, he not only had to observe every foothold, but also use his sense of touch to feel the sway of the trunk. And all of this had to be processed within an extremely brief instant.

Whoosh!

In the time it took Kabir to blink, Little Arro had already charged to the very top of the tree.

"Arro, you did it!" Black Cat Gemma shouted and jumped beneath the tree.

Cat Form Fist - Climbing Tree has broken through to Advanced. This skill has reached the body's limit.

A cool autumn breeze brushed across Little Arro's delicate face, and his golden hair swayed in the wind. Looking at the bustling Small Town, Little Arro sighed softly in his heart.

Another year was about to pass...

Personal Martial Arts Mission: Novice Mission probinggg...

The system was still fucking stuck on the Novice Mission!

Under the Night Curtain, inside the great hall of Garner Castle.

Kabir respectfully reported the events of the day to the burly figure in the center of the hall.

"You're saying that Little Arro climbed all the way to the top of the tree in one go today?"

"Yes, Lord Parchez Garner."

Parchez Garner smiled and shook his head. "What a naughty little monkey. But being naughty is good too. At least he's healthy."

Thinking of Little Arro's sturdy, well-built muscles, Kabir nodded deeply. He truly was a very healthy child.

At that thought, Kabir suddenly realized something and quickly looked up to ask, "Lord Parchez Garner, Young Master Arro's physical strength is sufficient now. Should we begin knight training for him?"

"No need."

Parchez Garner waved a hand. "A strong body does not mean strong bones. That kind of body-destroying knight training is unsuitable for anyone younger than ten or so!"

"Alright, Kabir, go back first. Recently, my unlucky son and Nicole have both gone out. You must protect Little Arro well."